


As your voice consoles me

by Webtrinsic



Series: The Hitman Richie AU [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Barry AU, Devotion, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Fluff and Angst, Hickeys, Hitman AU, M/M, Married Life, Past Child Abuse, Possessive Richie Tozier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Richie Tozier, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Saddish ending, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Soft Richie Tozier, Start to a series, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, dog walks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 15:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21138596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Webtrinsic/pseuds/Webtrinsic
Summary: One of Richie's targets had some less than pleasant plans for his husband, and Richie can't help the fears and possessive nature he takes on after, luckily Eddie, although oblivious to his actual work, is there to help bring him back to reality.





	As your voice consoles me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writer_Markilyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Markilyn/gifts).
  * Inspired by [My Husband is a Hitman?!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763959) by [Writer_Markilyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Markilyn/pseuds/Writer_Markilyn). 

> I just moved from California to Texas, legit have nothing else to do but write so I hopefully have a lot of stuff to get down.
> 
> ALSO THIS IS DEDICATED TO MARKIE FOR HELPING ME AND WRITING THE FIRST HITMAN AU
> 
> THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING SERIESSSSSS

He’d have thought the anger in his gut would have disappeared after he’d torn the monster that had threatened his husband apart limb from limb; only to be proven wrong as he panted down at the mauled corpse that his brain still insisted he kick into oblivion.

_ He’s safe now. The threat is gone. He can’t hurt Eddie. _

_ Not enough. You didn’t do enough. He’s still in danger! _

The two mantras in his head pounded in sync, each scurrying in a desperate attempt to overshadow the other making the scratching in his skull ripple throughout his being like a pinched nerve begging for relief.

Richie snarled then, the noise rather abruptly shutting off his thoughts as his boot clad foot shot out and sent the fuckers severed arm flying into the bushes.

“Fuck!”

\---

Eddie raised his eyebrow at his husband as he entered their home in a rush, not even bothering to lock the door like he always did, his chest heaving, blue eyes wide and determined as they scanned their quaint little home until they landed on him. 

“‘Chee?” Eddie asked carefully, wondering if Richie was in the midst of an episode or recovering from one. Joining the military had been the only way Richie could get out of Derry, Eddie remembered being worried sick and writing him letters everyday while holding the ones he’d received in turn to his chest for hours in the same way he wished he could hold its sender. He still had them in a box under their bed, the letters well worn and smudged but loved nonetheless.

Neither of them had expected Richie to be in true active combat, nor had they known one day Richie would be forced to kill and watch the friends he made in the service die, expected yes, but that likely hadn’t made it easier for his husband to witness. Richie had been exceedingly lucky to come home at all, especially unharmed, he had been the sole survivor of his troop and Eddie’s heart lurched at the mental toll his lover had to be experiencing, often in silence.

Richie crossed the room in long powerful strides, Eddie standing quickly from the couch, not in the least bit frightened, just uncertain of his husband's intentions as he towered over him. Richie’s strong arms snatching him up around the waist, leading Eddie to wrap his legs around the taller man’s hips, barely able to take a breath before his back was pressed to the nearest wall and Richie’s lips were on his own.

The hypochondriac shuddered at the possessive touch, the Richie in front of him was primal in a way he’d never experienced before. A groan escaped his lips as Richie buried his face in the crook of his neck, sucking hard enough to leave a trail of hickeys in his wake. Eddie would complain about the marks, his instinct to argue always acting up when his husband was involved, but the damage had been done and Richie seemed to need it. 

Eddie brought his arms up around Richie’s head, fingers tangling in thick hair, the strands smelling a bit odd but he didn’t question it, not when Richie was pushing all of his body weight against his own and digging his dexterous fingers into his shoulder blades. 

“Rich?” Eddie moaned in a moment of lucidity, trying to seperate Richie’s head from his neck but the other man was undeterred from his apparent quest to let the world know exactly who he belonged to.

“Mine,” was the first word Eddie managed to make out beneath the growling that had erupted from his lover, the feeling crippling as their chests touched and the vibrations shook them both, the wall against Eddie’s back making his shirt ride up, Richie’s left hand moving to chase that skin with fervor. 

“Yours,” Eddie assured, pressing a meaningful kiss to his husbands temple before Richie’s breaths levelled into a deep rhythmic hum. The sharp lines of Richie’s shoulders faltered, Eddie no longer feeling the tenseness under his palms as Richie seemingly calmed for the moment.

“I love you Eds,”

“I love you too Rich,”

\---  
  


_ “You piece of shit,” Roger his next target sputtered, blood falling from his lips, teeth snarled in anger. _

_ “Yeah, I’m not the sex offender, thirty grand and you off the streets doesn’t seem so bad to me,”  _

_ “You know what Richie? Do you wanna know what I was going to do next? I was going to make your cute little hypochondriac of a husband dirty in a way you couldn’t help him from, taken what’s yours while your little Eds wouldn’t be able to live on without the reminder that someone else had put their hands-” _

Richie woke up with a gasp, arm shooting out to the side of the bed in search of his Eddie, it was ultimately empty yet the sheets were warm and damp from the night before. Not even the memory of their night saved him from the ultimate panic that the bed was empty.

Tearing the tattered covers off of him and onto the floor, Richie ignored the disgruntled whine of their Pomeranian on its bed below, now covered in filthy sheets as Richie rushed from the bedroom and down the stairs into the kitchen. A long breath escaping him at the sight of his Eddie Spaghetti’s back turned to the stove, the smell of bacon and eggs in the air as they sizzled on the pan.

Eddie’s head turned to him, giving a soft smile, looking absolutely debauched in his boxers, and Richie’s shirt hanging off of his shoulders, his neck not showing even the slightest bit of his normal creamy skin.

If Richie wasn’t so relieved to see his husband was safe, he’d be preening in the success at his handiwork. 

“Rich! Go put some pants on,” Eddie chided through a laugh, Richie only then realizing he was standing naked in their kitchen, “Hurry up before Chapstick tries to bite your dick or something,” 

“I’d let you bite my dick,” Richie replied on instinct, earning a laugh from the other man as he moved the pan off the flames and padded over. 

“You did all the biting yesterday if my neck has anything to say about it,” Eddie teased, pushing himself onto his tiptoes to kiss Richie’s lips before fake gagging, his nose wrinkling.

“You stink, get your boxers on and eat, we’re showering after,” Pushing gently at the taller man’s chest, Richie complied, spying Chapstick in the hall causing him to hurry to do as Eddie asked.

“I would have made pancakes but you’re better at it,” Eddie explained when Richie made his way back to the kitchen, the smaller man picking at his eggs before his eyes shifted into that concerned look that always had Richie’s heart melting and his defenses lowering.

“If-Um,” Words seemingly escaped Eddie then, not knowing what to say or how to assure his husband after yesterday, so he settled with, “I’m here,”

“I know,” Richie assured firmly, wondering if he was talking to Eddie or himself.

\---

Eddie tucked his head beneath his husbands chin as the water cascaded down his back, frowning at the bruises and scars littering Richie’s torso. He didn’t ask where they came from, there were times when Richie got himself hurt when he had an episode but no one else was ever injured and Richie was here with him. If something worse had happened Eddie would have taken care of it, Richie was safe with him.

It was fortunate Eddie’s head was tucked away because the blood caked in Richie’s hair was swirling down the drain where they’d never see it again. Richie pulled Eddie a little closer then, jaw setting angrily as Rogers words came back to him.

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” the question was soft, spurred by Richie’s hold becoming more of cradle.

Richie really didn’t enjoy lying to his husband, but he also couldn’t just drop it. Sure, Eddie would if he asked, but that didn’t mean he, himself, wouldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Some guy at work saw our photo together and might have elluded to wanting to fuck you,” It was the best cover Richie had, closest to the truth it could possibly be too.

The hitman honestly wasn’t expecting Eddie to laugh. Eddie hadn’t meant to either. Here he thought he was dealing with Richie’s PTSD, when it wasn’t that at all. It did explain the ‘mine’ during sex and the hickeys though.

“I don’t want anyone else but you Rich, I wouldn’t let anyone else but you do this to my neck,”

_ Want.  _ _ Let. _

Richie tried to shake those words off and focus on Eddie’s declaration, Roger was dead and Eddie was here in his arms.

Eddie wasn’t like the other victims, skin marred by rope burn, hips bruised by rough hands, neck swollen, _ afraid and traumatized. _

Richie couldn’t even bare to imagine Eddie in such a state, sadly his mind didn’t seem to get the memo. Images of his Eddie naked and afraid flashed in his brain, tears and sobs echoing in between his ears, Eddie scrambling into a corner, Eddie in the shower trying desperately to clean himself, Eddie  _ bleeding _ , Eddie bleeding again because he’d rubbed his skin raw until it cracked.

“Rich,” The water wasn’t running anymore and there was a towel wrapped around his waist, Eddie dry in front of him with his own towel snug around his hips. Hair sticking up in every which way, its brashness such a contrast from its normal gelled down style, Richie couldn’t help the smirk on his lips.

“I’m going to take Chapstick for a walk after this, did you want to come?” Eddie asked softly, his actions gentle and slow in what Richie knew was accommodation to his peculiarity. Richie nodded before he leaned his head down at Eddie’s notion, the shorter man towelling his hair and giggling.

“Would you let me trim it a bit? You always get these small knots that you never comb out. The ends are all dead now,”Richie didn’t hesitate to nod when one of Eddie’s fingers got stuck in a curl, his hair had grown out a little more making the back of his neck sweat awkwardly which he knew Eddie didn’t like, especially with how often he rubbed his hands on his pants after pulling him down for a kiss. 

“We can pass that house with the cat in the yard, Chapstick likes to lick it through the fence,” Richie pointed out feeling the need to contribute to the conversation, taking a seat on the toilet seat Eddie procured the scissors and got to work.

“I think the cat’s name is Mittens,” Eddie hummed, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth in concentration, eyes trained on Richie’s hair while Richie wasn’t shy in his appreciation of his husbands face, Eddie’s cheeks going pink the second he noticed.

“That’s ironic, Mittens and Chapstick,” Richie chuckled, watching as the ends of his hair splintered down onto the mat on the floor. “I wonder why he wants Mittens when there’s that toy poodle Lulu down the block,” Eddie didn’t fail to pick up on the insecurity in the man’s voice, knowing they weren’t just talking about the dog.

“I think Chapstick knows what he wants,” Eddie hummed faux absently, grabbing the comb and doing one last run through with his fingers when that wasn’t enough. 

“He gets that from me,” Richie deadpanned, admiring Eddie’s handiwork in the mirror as Eddie swept up the hair and deposited it in the trash. “But he’s cute like you,”

“Cute, cute, cute,” Eddie mumbled under his breath, memories of a younger Richie chanting it making him smile, it quickly turning into a cringe when Richie’s face lit up brighter than a firework. 

“You’re the Mittens to my Chapstick,” 

The exaggerated sigh and roll of Eddie’s eyes would have probably hurt another person’s feelings, definitely not Richie’s.

“Maybe you should use some chapstick, I feel like I’m kissing sandpaper,” Eddie chuckled, combing his own hair before moving to the bedroom to get dressed.

“You weren’t complaining last night,” Richie whistled loudly at the blush dripping from Eddie’s cheeks down his chest at the mention of their night before. 

“Last...last night was different,” Eddie admitted, looking more and more red as he put on his clothing, his actions even more speedy than they normally were, a feat in itself.

Richie’s phone rang before he could ask Eddie what about yesterday was different, Richie already knew the answer, what he wanted to know was what about that had his Eds blushing so hard. What about his unhinged nature turned Eddie into a clinging and desperate mess.

“I’ll get Chapstick ready, you can get that,” The second Eddie got through the doorway and it clicked leaving him alone, Richie answered the call.

“Richie, you went a little overkill with that Roger guy but that’s okay. Anyway the money’s being wired to your account, the guy was wondering if you could get a hit out on some other guy, same amount of money and all, I can send you the details if you’re up for it,” His connection raved.

Eddie’s baby voice drifted throughout the house, calling Chapstick a beautiful boy, making Richie smile into the receiver. 

“Yeah, I can do that. Send it through,” 

\---

The two chuckled at Chapstick whose snout was pushing through the lines in the fence, a little black and white cat pawing at him on the other side, claws extending when the licks were too aggressive for the cat’s liking.

“It’s almost as if I’m watching our life story,” Richie whispered into Eddie’s ear.

“You think Chapstick would crawl in through Mittens window?” Eddie returned, confident that the best night of his childhood were when Richie came tumbling in through his window, trying unsuccessfully to be quiet and holding him close as they stared at one another with the now open window supplying moonlight that made their features glow.

“Without question,” Eddie leaned into Richie’s arms at the answer, smitten even after being together for so long. 

“You used to be the only reason I could sleep at night,” The confession was soft against Richie’s jaw, chuffing a laugh when Mittens the cat seemed to be over his affection and smacked poor love smitten Chapstick in the nose with his tail as he sauntered away.

Richie held Eddie a little bit tighter then, returning home with Chapstick seemingly sad yet excited for the next day so he could see his love Mittens again. Richie knew the feeling all too well.

“I didn’t like sleeping without you either, but now I do it all the time,” Richie cheered in success, winding an arm around Eddie’s shoulders.

“I remember there was this night she hit me and you were out of town, I don’t think I slept until you got back,” Eddie reminisced, not expecting the revelation to shatter his husband so thoroughly.

“She fucking hit you?” Eddie had seen the same ferocity in his husband's eyes the night before, and guilt filled his chest knowing this time it was his fault.

_ Take it back, change the subject, comfort him.  _

The phrases ricocheted throughout the smaller man’s head, instinct causing him to curl closer to Richie’s larger build even with his hostile tone. Richie would never hurt him, that Eddie knew, but also wanted to be cautious with his lovers angered state due to him really not having much experience with it. 

_ Lover not a fighter. _

“Just the one time,” Richie didn’t seem any less angry at the answer, but luckily they’d arrived back at their home and Eddie could turn his attention to unlocking the door and unclipping Chapstick’s harness rather than the aura of protective fury radiating off of his husband. 

“That doesn’t excuse-”

“Richie!” The blue eyed man stopped at the tone, mouth half open and ready to retort before it closed in a tight line.

“I know it doesn’t excuse it, there’s a lot of things she did, I can’t actually excuse even though I try to,” Eddie sighed and pulled Richie in through the door, tugging his husband down to his level, “Remember the day we got married? What we promised,”

Richie didn’t mean to close his eyes, but he wasn’t sure he could look his husband in the eye as he recited a line from his vows.

_ “Past, present, and now our future. I’ll be with you through it all, I’ll protect you from our past, and never let you go in the days and years on,”  _

“I belong to you,” Eddie whispered in unison as tears slipped down Richie’s cheeks, Ed’s thumbs moving to wipe them away before they could stray too far.

“You never told me she did that,” Richie whispered sounding hurt, enveloping Eddie in his arms, the smaller body pressed tightly to his own.

“Because if I did, you’d be acting like this,” kisses were pressed against Richie’s stubble, and Richie really couldn’t fight him on that.

“You didn’t seem to mind, considering the blush you were sporting earlier Spaghetti,” Cue the blush on Eddie’s cheeks, rivalling a sunburn, and Eddie slowly slipping out of Richie’s grasp only to be abruptly pulled back with a thumping noise between their chest.

Eddie’s eyes lost the lust that had begun building in them at his next confession, “You call out for me in your sleep...and yesterday. It was like-I’m not- no ones going to take me away ‘Chee, Bowers and Patr-” a rumbling growl escaped Richie’s chest at the names. He didn’t want to think of them, those horrid bullies of their childhood, the same people who tried so desperately to separate him from his Eddie when they were younger.

“Please,” it came out brokenly and Eddie’s worry only doubled, but he nodded nonetheless, stopping his efforts and just letting himself be manhandled into Richie’s chest as they slid to the floor, the taller of the two weeping.

Eddie cried then too, helplessness overtaking him as the light of his life broke and withered. Grip tight and bruising, protecting him from the demons Richie had to be sure were lurking around just ready to take him away.

The hypochondriac’s body ached at the position, the discomfort overpowered by the inquiries and worries floating around his head. 

Richie had told him about his coworkers comments, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling that his husband had neglected to tell him something else. Something important enough to send him spiralling. 

Ultimately, if only for now, Eddie decided to keep his mouth shut. Richie would tell him when he was ready, and even if he never did, Eddie would be there.


End file.
